Trailer Time

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The Great Gatsby

Memorial Day: For the pop-culture fanatic, it means more than just parades and barbecues. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the big summer movie season (though it creeps up earlier and earlier each year, hence The Avengers' early-May release and even John Carter's March debut). And, as the big blockbusters start to roll out, movie studios want to make sure that their big, splashy trailers for movies coming out even later in the year go out with them.

Most notable to our area: The trailer for Hyde Park on Hudson, which takes place in our Hudson Valley and stars Valley resident Bill Murray. I saw this one in front of Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, also starring Murray, and while it may not be a summer blockbuster but it did break limited-release box office records. Check out Murray's FDR accent blow.

(My favorite part of the whole thing? "They just left Beacon!") The trailer had Moviefone.com wondering if an Oscar is in the cards for Murray, but I'm not sure if his performance seems showy enough. Still, he hasn't been nominated since 2004's Lost in Translation—his only nomination so far, and he lost to Sean Penn in Mystic River—so he might be due. What do you think?

Our next big trailer unfortunately doesn't take place in our area, but our corresponding New York suburb to the southeast. If you feel like taking a trip to Jazz Age Long Island, check out the trailer for Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby (which I saw paired with, of all things, Men in Black III).

It's often been said that it's impossible to make a good movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby, but I think that this one might be over-the-top enough to come close. (I mean, is that a zebra in the pool?) I regret that I didn't spring for the 3D screening of Men in Black so I could see the confetti spray out at me in the audience. What do you think—too much?

Anyone else see any good trailers this weekend? Let me know in the comments.

Westchester's Pop Culture

About This Blog

Marisa LaScala

Elmsford, NY

Articles Editor Marisa LaScala joined Westchester Magazine in 2003, and ever since she's blown every paycheck at the Greenburgh Multiplex. She also staunchly defends Richard Kelly, doesn't mind spoiling the endings of trashy movies you're curious about but don't want to pay to see, wishes the Hold Steady would come and rock out Westchester, misses Arrested Development more than anyone can imagine, and still watches cartoons and Saturday Night Live. You can find more of her cultural criticism at www.popmatters.com, where she is a staff writer.